The EPITeen24 project makes use of the previous three EPITeen evaluations: at 13, 17 and 21 years old and outlines and carries out a new inquiry in 2014/15, when the youngsters are 24 years old.
It is ongoing since June 2013 to November 2015.
The main goals are:
- To assess the extent to which social background features determine youth’s life trajectories and opportunities, setting them different paths;
- To explore the factors that can contribute to go against “social destiny”, that is, through the study of upward or downward social mobility trajectories;
- To evaluate the effects of the economic and financial crisis of the recent years on the social and individual life trajectories, introducing changs in paths, realities and expectations.
The study is organized along four research strands:
- Education, work, mobility and social inequality
If on one hand, early school drop-out rates are still high in Portugal, on the other hand, there are remarkable effects of upward mobility between parents and children in terms of education levels. What are the returns of such mobility in terms of youths’ employment? And what is more important: social background or attained education level?Gender, biographies, lifestyles and family formation - Gender, biographies, lifestyles and family formation
Girls, on average, outperform boys academically, but what effects does this educational advantage e disadvantage have on labor market entry and family formation? - Social determinants of health, subjective wellbeing and quality of life
There is evidence of the importance of social determinants in health, starting from early stages of life. What is the relationship between some specific diseases and social and family background? And what are the effects of the crisis on health and wellbeing inequalities? - Social capital, social networks and citizenship
The resources available in the social networks of individuals, what we call social capital, are crucial for social destination and reproduction. So, how is social capital mobilized by young people? And how is it mobilized in a time crisis? And what the intervention ability of these young people in the public sphere?
To achieve the defined goals the project is organized by steps, which combine extensive and intensive research approaches, using different methods of data collection and analysis:
- Analyze the existing database with the information collected at 13, 17 and 21 years old;
- Replicate the survey (the 4th wave) to the same individuals at age 24, adding new dimensions of analysis according to the moment of their life cycle and to the external context of economic and social crisis;
- Application of in depth interviews to a selected group of young people (about 60) in order to identify the factors contributing to upward, horizontal or downward social mobility, and to resilience and/or adaptation to the consequences of the economic and financial crisis;
- Systematic analysis of the results obtained with the surveys and the interviews, and dissemination of results.
